Electric welding-machine.



I 'F. MULLER. ELECTRIC WELDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0110.23. 1911. RENEWED .IAN. 23.1915- 1,151,706.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

F. MULLER.

ELECTRIC WELDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.23. I911. RENEWED JAN. 28. 1915. 1,151,706.

Patented Aug. 31,-1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPI U IT D STATES rATEN OFFICE.

FRIEDERICH TVEU'LLER, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T PRATT. 8aWHITNEY COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC WELDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. 7 Patente ([Aug. 31, 1915.

Application filed December 23, 1911, Serial No. 667,517. Renewed January28, 1915. Serial No. 4,953.

- To all whom it may concern Be it knownthat I, Famnuuiorr Mr'iLLER, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hartford, county ofHartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Electric Welding- Machines,of which the following is aspecific ation.

This invention. relates to'a machine for. svelding by electricity. 1

While the invention as to some of its features'may be applied to otherpurposes, it is particularlyaddressed to machines for butt weldingroundpieces of work, such as the welding of shanks to drills, taps, and

the like.

mechanism for 'accurately centering the pieces of work at bothends,applying longitudinal pressure thereto and conducting the'current to thework in a uniformly distributed manner so as to secure an efhclent andeven heating thereof, whereby after the pieces have been welded andcooled they will be in accurate alinement with each other.

The invention 'alsohas for an object to provide a mechanism adapted toaccommodate work varyingv in. length and diameter through wide limits,provision being made. for the ready insertion and removal of the workwithout changing any of'the adjustments of the parts and at the sametime providing for the ready and accurate ad ustment of the parts, asrequired to apply the proper degree of end-pressure and secure theproper location of the electrodes with relation to the ends to beunited, having regard to variations of diameter. ofthe work, the

conductivity of the metal, etc. I The invention also contemplates theprovision of means whereby the electrodes may be readily changedwhenworn 'or injured and whereby the electrodes and their con.-

1 nected parts may be efficientlycooled.

These and other objects of the invention will be in part obvious and inpart more fully explained in the following description. Theinventionconsists in the novel parts, improvements, and combinationsherein shown and described...

In theaccompanying drawings is illus trated one embodiment of theinvention, the

same serving in connection with the descriptlon to eXplam-the pr nciplesof the invention.

- 9 suitably pivoted onthe frame.

. other lengthwise of the work, but relatively Of thedrawings Figure lis a side elevation, partly in section, of a machine con structed inaccordance with my invention; Fig.1 2 is an end elevation of the machineas seen. from the left in Fig. 1, parts being broken. away or shown insection more g main support or frame 1 having a machined The inventionhas for an objectto provide J upper surface forminga track or way for apair of secondary supports or carriages 2 and These secondary supportsrespectively carry thedevices cooperating with the two pieces tobe'welded and are mounted for independent longitudinal movement upon theframe, and means'are provided for effecting a relative'movement betweenthese members as required'toapply end'or long1- tudinal pressure tothework and to release 1 the same. Inthe embodiment illustrated thesupport 2 is adjustably fixed uponthe frame by any suitable means, suchas a screw 4 fixed. at one end to the member 2 and pro vided with a pairof nuts 5 adapted to engage the opposite sides of a bracket 6 secured atthe end of the frame 1. The relative longitudinal movement may beeffected in various ways. As shown, a toggle 7 is pivoted at one. end tothe frameand at the other end to the member 3, and-this toggle isconnected by a link 8 with a hand lever An adjustable stop 7 ispreferably provided to determine the limit of the pressure-applyingmovement-of the toggle so thatthe same compressing movement may alwaysbe ap plied to pieces of the same length.

Devices of various forms may be provide for cooperation with. the piecesto be welded so far as some of the-features of the invention areconcerned. 'In' the embodiment, illustrated, however, each of thesecondary supports is provided with a member for applying. longitudinalor'endwise pressure to';

the work, and a member for. effecting elec-:

- trical contact with the work, these members being normally fixed withrelation to each adjustable to accommodate pieces of differ ent lengths.

The electrical contact members are preferably and as shown fixed uponthe secondary carriages since the necessary relative adjustment of thesemembers is comparatively slight and may be effected by the adjustment ofthe secondary support 2 with relation to the range of movement of thesecondary support 3.

In the construction illustrated the electrical contact member for thesupport 3 comprises a body portion 10 bolted to but insulated from thesupport 3, said body portion having a standard 11 provided with acentral opening to receive the work and carrying the electrodes. Inorder to permit the insertion and removal of the work and to accommodatework of different diameters, the electrodes are mounted for radialmovement to and from the axial line of the work, and the standard isprovided at its front side with a radial opening 12 through which thework may be introduced and removed in a lateral direction.

Any suitable number of electrodes adapted to evenly distribute thecurrent through the work may be employed. Preferably and as shown, threeelectrodes 13, 14, and 15 are employed, these being mounted for radialmovement and equally spaced about the axial line of the work. Anysuitable means may be employed for moving the electrodes into and out ofcontact with the work but in the preferred construction the electrodesare connected for equal simultaneous movement so that they will have aself-centering action upon the work. As shown, the means for moving theelectrodes comprises a screw 16 which is threaded, as best shown in Fig.5, in a slide member 17 forming the support for the electrode 14. Thescrew may be operated in any convenient way, as by the gears 18 and 19,respectively mounted upon the screw and upon a shaft 20, which isjouraled in the standard 11 and is pro-- vided at its forward end with asquare end to receive a suitable wrench or hand wheel. The motion of theslide 17 is transmitted to similar sides 21 and 22 for the respectiveelectrodes 13 and 15 by racksformed on the respective slide members,said racks being connected by intermediate gears 23 and 24, as clearlyshown in Fig. 8. For convenience of construction the slide members17,21, and 22 aremounted in ways formed in a part 25 and are held inthese ways by a plate 26, these two pieces being bolted by bolts 37 tothe side of the standard 11, as clearly shown at the right in Fig. 1.The plate 26, also, froms a support'for the studs upon which the gears23 and 2 1 are mounted.

For the purpose of keeping the electrodes properly coiled when themachine is in continuous operation, the part 25 is preferably providedwith passages 27 in which water or other cooling fluid may be circulatedby means of suitable pipe connections 28. For convenience ofconstruction the passages 27 are formed as grooves in the side of thepart 25 and are closed by a plate 29 which is clamped between the part25 and standard 11, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

It will be observed that the electrodes are detachably secured, as bymeans of screws, to their respective slides so that they may be readilydetached for repair or replacement by others, when unduly worn orinjured, or when it is necessary or desirable to change the form of thecontact surfaces. These electrodes are also detachably connected withsuitable current distributing means. As shown, each electrode isdetachably bolted to a flexible conductor 30 and these in turn areconnected with a curved or annular conductor 31, which is preferablyformed of copper of ample dimensions and is in turn connected with onepole 32 of the main circuit.

It will be understood that the electrical contact member of thesecondary support 2 may be and, as shown, is identical in constructionwith that just described except that the parts, where necessary, will beof the reverse hand or, say, left-handed instead of right-handed. Theparts of the electrical contact member for the support 2 are accordinglydesignated by the same reference numbers in the drawings with theaddition of a prime.

The members for applying longitudinal pressure to the two ends of thework may be and as shown are duplicates, these mem bers comprisingstandards 35 which for convenience are mounted upon the body portions 10and 10 of the contact members and are adjustable longitudinally thereofto accommodate pieces of work of difi'erent lengths. Any suitable meansmay be provided to effect a connection between these standards and theopposite or outer ends of the work. Preferably, such connecting meansshould be adapted to center the outer or remote ends of the work on thesame axis that the inner or proximate ends of the pieces of work arecentered by the electrodes. As shown, the connection between eachstandard and the corresponding end of the work is efi'ected by a pointedmember or dead center 36 which is adjustable longitudinally withrelation to its standard to further vary the capacity of the machine asregards the length of the work which may be accommodated thereby.

It will be seen that each blank is centered, in the illustrated machine,by two means, first, the multiple electrode, as 131415, and, second, thedead center 36, the latter also giving to the blank longitudinalpressure or resistance during the welding.

The operation of the machine will be unmentioned the fact that each endof each of the two pieces of work to be united will be accuratelycentered automatically with.

the axes coincident, and bothends ofeach piece will be reliablysupportedby members. having no relative movement so that the character of theelectrical contact will not be changed during the heating and welding.process, and at the same time the contact surfaces will be subject to aminimum of strain andwear. The work may be placed in position andremovedin a lateral direction and without shiftingthe position of the membersfor applying end pressure which; is

of great advantage where a number, of ex-. 'ac tly similar or duplicate.welding operations are to be performed.

The inventionain its broader aspects is not limited to v the precise.construction shown,as the same may be varied in-details.

without departing from the mainprinciples chief advantages. -.Iclaim: 1"

1. An electric welding machine including in combination, a mainsupportor frame, a pair of secondary supports one for each of "of the inventionand without sacrificing its the two pieces of work to be united, each,of,

said secondary supports carryingin normal fixed relation to the work amember for applying longitudinal pressure to the work and a member foreffecting electrical contact with the work,,said contact members beinglocatedibetween said pressure-applying members and'provided withopenings to permit the removal in a lateral direction of the work frombetweenthe pressure-applying members, and means for eifecting a relativemovement between said secondary sup.- ports, substantially as described.

2. An electricwelding machine including in combination, a main supportorframe, a

pair of secondary. supports one for each of the two'piecesof worktobeunited, eachof said secondary, supports carrying in. normal fixedrelation tothework amember for applying longitudinal pressure to thework and a member for effecting electricalcontact with the work,saldcontact members being located between said pressure-applying membersand provided with'openings to permit the removal in a lateral directionof the work from between the pressure-applying members, and both thepressure-applying a and the contact members being constructed to centerthe pieces of work with relation to a common. axis, andmeans foreffecting a relative longitudinal movement between said secondarysupports, substantially as described. j

3. An electric welding machine including in combination, a main supportor frame, a pair of secondary supports one for each of the two pieces ofwork to be united, a pair of members carried respectively by saidsecondary supports for effecting electrical contactwith the work, each.of said contactmembers comprising an open-sided standard and a pluralityof electrodes mounted on saidstandard-and connected for simultaneousmovement to and from the axial line of the work, means for moving theelectrodes toclamp and release the work,and current-distributing meanshaving flexible connections with each of said electrodes.

4. An electric welding machine including in combination, a main supportor frame,'a pair of secondary supports one for each of the two pieces ofwork to be united, means for effecting a relative movement between saidsecondary supports, a pairof members respectively carried by saidsecondary sup ports for applying longitudinal pressure to the two piecesof work to be united, a pair of members respectively carried by saidsecondary supportsfor effecting electrical con,

tact with the work, said contact members be-.

currentdistributing means having flexible connections with each of saidelectrodes.

5. An electric welding machineincluding in combination,.a pair of.members for. applying longitudinal pressure to the two pieces of work tobe-united, a pair of meme bers for effecting electrical contact with thework, said contact members being located between said pressure-applyingmembers and provided with'openings to permit the.

removal inJa lateral direction of the work from between thepressure-applying mem- 1 bers.

GY An electric welding machine including in combination, a pair ofmembers for centering andapplying longitudinal pressure to the remoteends of the two pieces of work to be united, a pair ofmembersforeffecting electrical contact with and centering the proximateends of the two pieces of work, said contactmembers being locatedbetween said pressure-applying members and nor- 'mally fixedwithrelation thereto and pro- I vided with openings to permit the removal ina lateral direction of the work from be tween the pressureapplyingmembers.

7., An electric welding machine including in combination, a pair ofmembers for centering and applying longitudinal pressure to the remoteends of the two pieces of work to vI be'united, a' pair of members forefiecting trical contact with the work, said member comprising a supporthaving an opening at one side and a plurality of electrodes mounted onsaid support and connected for equal simultaneous movement toward theaxial line of the work.

9. An electric welding machine including in combination, a mam supportor frame, a

pair of secondary supports one for each of the two pieces of work to beunited, each of said secondary supports carrying in normal fixedrelation to thework two spaced-apart members, the first member forapplying longitudinal pressure to the work and the second member foreffecting electrical contact with the work, and means for effecting arelative movement of at least one of said secondary supports with itspressure applying member and its contact member longitudinally of theother secondary support during the welding. r

10. An electric weldin machine includin in combination, a main supportor frame, a pair of secondary supports one for each of the two pieces ofwork to be united, a pair of members carried respectively by said pairof secondary supports for applying longitudinal pressure to the twopieces of work to be united, a pair of members respectively carried bysaid pair of secondary supports for effecting an electrical contact withthe work, said contact members being located between said applyingmembers and normally fixed with relation to the work, means for varyingthe position upon the main frame of one of said supports and the twomembers carried by it, and means for moving longitudinally of the saidsupport the other of said supports and the two mem bers carried by it.

11. An electric welding machine includ ing in combination, a pair ofmembers for effecting electrical contact with the two pieces of work tobe united, said contact members being provided withopenings to permitthe removal in a lateral direction of the work, and a series ofconverging contacts movable toward each other to center the work andfrom each other to extract the,

work.

12. An electric welding machine including in combination, a pair ofgenerally cylindrical members for efi'ecting electrical contact with thetwo pieces of work to be united, and means for effecting relativelongitudinal movement between them, each of said contact members beingprovided with longitudinal openings to permit the removal in a lateraldirection of the work, also C- shaped interior water passages, means forcirculating therein a cooling fluid, and means for centering and holdingthe work centrally of said members.

13. An electrical welding machine including in combination, a member foreiiecting electrical contact with one of the pieces to be welded, saidmember comprising a plu rality of electrodes connected for equalsimultaneous movement toward the axial line of the work, and means fortogether moving said member, said electrodes and said piece of workduring the welding.

14. An electrical welding machine including in combination, a member foreffecting electrical contact with one of the pieces to be welded, saidmember comprising a plurality of electrodes connected for equalsimultaneous movement toward the axial line of the work for centeringand contacting the work, and from the work sufliciently to permitlateral removal thereof, and means for together moving said member, saidelectrodes and said piece of work during the welding.

15. An electrical welding machine includ ing in combination, a pair ofmembers for centering and applying longitudinal pressure to the remoteends of the two pieces of work to be united, a pair of members forefiecting electrical contact with and centering the proximate ends ofthe two pieces of work, said contact members being located between saidpressure-applying members and each, comprising a plurality of electrodesconnected for equal simultaneous movement toward the axial line of thework, and means for together moving one of said pressure members, itscorresponding contact member, and the corresponding piece of work duringthe welding.

16. An electric welding machine including in combination, a firstsupport having means for supporting a piece of work, a second support, adead center carried on the second support located" to contact the rearof the second piece of work, and a contacting member also carried bysaid second support comprising converging electrodes adapted to centerand contact the work, said electrodes and dead center located tomaintain the second piece of work in line with the first.

17. An electric welding machine includ- 7 rear of the second piece ofWork, a contacting member also carried by said second support comprisingconverging electrodes adapted to center and contact the Work, saidelectrodes and dead center located to maintain the second piece of Workin line With the first, means for adjusting one of said supportslongitudinally and fixing it, and means for moving the other supportlongitudinally during Welding.

18. An electric Welding machine including in combination, a firstsupport having means for supporting a piece of Work, a second support, adead center carried on the second support located to contact the rear ofthe second piece of Work, a contacting member also carried by saidsecond support comprising converging electrodes adapted to center andcontact the Work, said e1ectrodes and dead center located to maintainthe second piece of Work in line with the first, means for adjusting thefirst one of said supports longitudinally and fixing it, and means formoving the other support longitudinally during Welding.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

FRIEDERICH MULLER.

lVitnesses:

R. R. MURPHY, WM. J. DoLAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

